I don’t get it. Why would you sign him before the season even starts? The only thing I can think of is that they’re hoping to sign him on the cheap before he has a good showing on the field. IMO this kid will be better than the rook and win the starting job.

steelerben says:Jun 30, 2014 10:17 AM

Hoyer might not be the prototypical “franchise” quarterback, but he’s shown that he can make a bad Browns offense look competitive. With the improvements made in the offeseason he could definitely be a solid option if Johnny Football turns out to be Johnny Not-NFL-Ready.

losangelesbillsofbuffalo says:Jun 30, 2014 10:19 AM

I truly hope Hoyer is working hard and surprises us all. But all these Browns fans are blindly loving this guy because he won them a couple of games. I watched every throw he made, and to be honest, some of them were just plain ugly, and it seems to be going unnoticed. I hope I’m wrong, but I see Ryan Fitzpatrick all over this guy when he plays. That’s not the worst thing in the world, but it’s definitely not the guy I would want for the future.

getyourownname says:Jun 30, 2014 10:19 AM

If little is guaranteed, why would the Browns not do an extension?

And if a lot is guaranteed, what does that say about their QB evaluation process?

unless looking to use it as a platform to trade him one way or another it makes no sense

its almost like they have lost so much control over the JM situation, that every time he makes some stupid comment to the media, they feel the need to come out and throw support to Hoyer or publicly mention JM’s standing

this is going to either be a guy who can tell us all to screw off and will dominate the league. or he is going to crash and burn like Ryan Leaf. should be fun either way.

No surprise really. The owner “nudged” the Manziel pick to take the heat off of him. Notice the media stopped talking about his incompetence in firing a coach after one year? Notice the media stopped talking about the Federal investigation? Haslam is a genius for the way the franchise managed to use a draft pick on Manziel to take the spotlight off of them.

The Hoyer extension is a football decision, but the Manziel pick was a PR decision. The early nature of negotiations just verifies it.

I’m not a Johnny Football fan, but this story doesn’t mean anything until we see HOW MUCH money the Browns are hoping to give Hoyer.

If the Browns plan to give him just $4 million per year, that’s backup money, not starting QB money, so Manziel is still the starter in waiting.

Obviously, if the Browns give Hoyer a big money contract for more than, say, $8 million per year, that’s bad news for Manziel’s prospects to start, but for now, the smart bet is that the Browns offer Hoyer a clear backup-QB contract, in which case he doesn’t really pose a threat to Manziel.

urbusted2 says:Jun 30, 2014 10:38 AM

To everyone that said Hoyer is just a backup, consider this. He sat and learned under Tom Brady who was also just a backup until Bledsoe got hurt. You always need a good number two. I don’t know how good Manziel will or won’t be, but I do think sitting for at least a year and learning will benefit him and the Browns. I suspect a contract offered to Hoyer will reflect just that. In other words, it’ll be a tweener. The fans don’t want Manziel more than Hoyer who is literally a home town kid. They want success and anyone who’ll brings it.

MostlyRight says:Jun 30, 2014 10:40 AM

Letting Hoyer go was the AZ Cardinal’s 3rd biggest mistake of the 21st Century, after only 1) picking Levi Brown over Adrian Peterson and 2) taking themselves out of the Peyton Manning FA game by paying Kevin Kolb a $10 million roster bonus.

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If there’s one skill Hoyer has, it’s how to properly prepare to be successful in the NFL. He survived 4 years of QB meetings with Belichick and Brady where pregame study was mandatory.
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ialwayswantedtobeabanker says:Jun 30, 2014 10:49 AM

That’s exactly right, DG — the number of zeroes on Hoyer’s contract (if he gets a new one) — should be very telling on Hoyer’s projected future. That’s where the rubber meets the road.

Of course, teams can occasionally botch the handling of a player contract. For example, the Jets extended Mark Sanchez to an enormous contract with no good reason/no strong upside, but lots of downside — and let’s face it, the Sanchise is a nice guy (aside from wiping boogers on his teammates) — but a very poor NFL QB.

Spymaster Belichick says:Jun 30, 2014 10:50 AM

Seems about right for the Browns. A passer rating of 82.6 last year (5 TDs, 3 ints, 56% comp) is a step up and worthy of an extension. Right? Though, Matt Mccloin, Christan Ponder, and Matt Cassel did have higher QBRs…

This is old news. Weeks ago Ray the Farmer stated that they were talking to Hoyer, but both sides don’t really know what he is worth. Obviously the Browns would love to sign him to a back-up contract, and Hoyer would love himself some NFL starter cash….. It has been stated they won’t really know till at least a few weeks in…. And if Johnny works out, Hoyer might just be trade bait…. Johnny is THEIR guy…. Hoyer is left over from Banbardi….

Did somebody say Brian Hoyer was top 5 in the NFL before he got hurt? He was definitely a top 3 QB in the AFC North. That much I’m certain of.

urbusted2 says:Jun 30, 2014 11:34 AM

One additional thing about Hoyer. Stats are misleading. It’s how he refused to lose. He brought the team back, even after making some mistakes. That’s the quality you need in a QB. We haven’t seen that in Cleveland since Kosar.

LOL. Why would Hoyer do that? I sure wouldn’t if I were him. He obviously believes in himself so he’ll roll the dice and if he’s that good, the money will be much better next year for sure. If he’s not he’ll still get backup pay anywhere. He’s only at 1M a year now. Heck he makes more than Brandon Weeden in Dallas. I’m sure Dallas would give Hoyer $2M a year to replace Weeden.

Hold out Brian – and I’m a Browns fan.

grndizzle says:Jun 30, 2014 11:48 AM

realdealsteel says:
“Look at Hoyer’s first three games before injury. He was top 5 in the league.”

I don’t know about you, but if I am Hoyer and I have a chance to make a few more million holding a clipboard, occasionally getting to play, and having enough hype around him that he could maybe have a team trade for him (and pay him more to be a starter) or (at least) probably latch on somewhere if the Browns cut him at some point, this seems like a no-brainer to both sides.

How could Hoyer not enter camp as the starter anyway? He’s the only QB on the roster with any remotely successful experience as an NFL starter. Aside from him it’s Thigpen and two rookies. Of course, there’s no way he should leave camp as the starter, unless Johnny Football poops the bed. He won’t.

The passer rating in Brady’s first 2 starts were 79.6 & 58.7. So what’s your point? More goes into the evaluation of a QB than his rating. His releae time was 2.8 seconds, which was top 5 in the league. His command of the huddle, pocket presence, as well as knowing when and how to step up was noticable even to the casual fan. I cannot recall the entire 2 games, bu I remember 1 of the INTs against Minnesota was a great play by the defender.

What I mean is, he looked like an NFL QB, something that we haven’t seen the likes of in Cleveland since Bernie. I say give the kid a shot.

this has toob e 1 of the most screwed logics a team can have wait till the season is over thne see if he’s worth the $$$ if not move on too Johnny and draft another QB in 2015 as usual
its rinse in repeat every 1-2 years 3 if were lucky ugh my cleveland browns this craziness will never end WHEN IS CAM NEWTON a free agent can we go after him?

If, by chance, Hoyer comes out and thrives in Shannys offense and starts the year 3-2 or 4-1 he proves us all wrong. Flacco rolled the dice when the Ravens wanted to extend him a couple years ago. The planets aligned and they won a Super Bowl. Average Joe cashed in big time. Hardcore Raven fan was against extending him back then. Not saying Hoyer is in Flaccos class, just saying.

Why would Hoyer do it? a signing bonus! pretty simple If he comes in gets hurt right away or stinks up the joint his value goes way down…his stock is at his highest point…the only way it gets better is if he lights it up…which is a big if, considering the recieving corp and new personal on offense….

crownofthehelmet says:Jun 30, 2014 1:06 PM

He’s demonstrating the Vulcan nerve pinch as the only way he sees being able to contain Troy, Shazier & Co.

Well I want to troll here, but I kinda like Brian Hoyer, he’s a good guy and a good underdog to cheer for. I also think this talk is a kick in the pants for Manziel to make him work harder on the field and be quieter off it.

The media is so stupid. Hoyers the starter. End of story. Its so self serving to say johnny will start

thefiesty1 says:Jun 30, 2014 1:53 PM

Cleveland QB’s are nothing more than a revolving door every year or two. 4 wins out of any QB is the best they can do no matter who is starting in Cleveland.

oldcracker says:Jun 30, 2014 3:46 PM

They extend him now to hedge their bets on Hoyer.

If he starts and looks good, they keep him on the cheap. If he looks so-so, they can trade him with a reasonable contract; Johnny starts and Shaw takes over as #2. If he looks bad, they let him walk, and Shaw is the new #2.

Manziel hasn’t really done anything wrong yet, even though I’m becoming a bit concerned about his constant drinking. Either way, Manziel was Haslam’s pick and maybe Haslam is trying to motivate Johnny to grow up a bit.

crownofthehelmet says:Jun 30, 2014 4:23 PM

You fans remember Charlie Frye? I forgot what year it was the young QB led the team to respectability, then the next season they started him WK 1 vs the steelers. He was picked and sacked a bunch of times, out by the 2nd half, career was never the same.